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><A
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>11.3. Changing user properties</A
></H1
><P
>	There are a few commands for changing various
	properties of an account (i.e., the relevant field
	in <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/passwd</TT
>):

	<DIV
CLASS="GLOSSLIST"
><DL
><DT
><B
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>chfn</B
></B
></DT
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><P
> Change the full name field.
		</P
></DD
><DT
><B
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>chsh</B
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
> Change the login shell.
		</P
></DD
><DT
><B
><B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>passwd</B
></B
></DT
><DD
><P
>Change the password.
		</P
></DD
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>

	The super-user may use these commands to change the properties
	of any account. Normal users can only change the properties
	of their own account. It may sometimes be necessary to disable
	these commands (with <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>chmod</B
>) for normal users,
	for example in an environment with many novice users.  </P
><P
>	Other tasks need to be done by hand. For example, to
	change the username, you need to edit 
<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/passwd</TT
>
	directly (with <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>vipw</B
>, remember). Likewise, to add
	or remove the user to more groups, you need to edit
	<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>/etc/group</TT
> (with <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>vigr</B
>). Such 
tasks tend to
	be rare, however, and should be done with caution: for
	example, if
	you change the username, e-mail will no longer reach the
	user, unless you also create a mail alias.
	
		<A
NAME="AEN2450"
HREF="#FTN.AEN2450"
>[1]</A
>
		
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>[1]</A
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>The user's name might change due to
		marriage, for example, and he might want to have his
		username reflect his new name.</P
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